im new to soldering.
i got my first gun a few months ago for about 8 bucks. was working well for awhile but i noticed recently when i am soldering i am getting a very small steady shock when touching what i am soldering. is there some maintanance / cleaning i'm sopposed to be doing to prevent this or do i buy a new one?
Which soldering iron. Sounds like an issue with the one you got.
You get what you pay for and any soldering iron you can buy for $8 for electronic work isn’t worth discussing, it’s junk. The fact that it shocks you says it’s absolutely junk and should immediately be chucked in the rubbish bin. You cannot learn to solder properly with a junk iron, it’s a waste of time. Don’t throw money away on junk tools and a good soldering iron is one of those things you will never regret buying.
There are several major name brands, consider those first. Any iron for electronics must be temperature controlled, esd safe and have interchangeable tips. You can still buy replacement tips for name brand irons that are thirty plus years old. Try that with your Happy-sun Chinese one off brand. Cheap to buy, expensive to maintain since you just end up replacing it.
None of these things, please:
It means somehow the power from mains is leaking into the tip. Poor insulation? Shoddy design? Whatever the cause, throw that thing out. Not only are you electrocuting yourself, it's also likely to damage parts you are working on.
it really is down to luck with the cheapos.
coming from a n00b, i'd say a 1-in-3 chance of getting a good one is worth the price of NOT buying a quality brand.
put it down to learning about characteristics of such equipment as well.
i've been lucky enough with the irons, it's the cheap tips that are more of a hindrance.
that and good (NON lead-free) solder - i ran out of a branded 0.6mm solder which saw me doing rather well, then i had to end up buying 1/4 kg of some other brand, because there was only a small spool left of that good brand - which was in 0.3mm 
still trying to find the right temperature for this lesser quality one - seems rather 'sticky'. (i'm guessing bumping up the heat from 300^C might be the way to go.)
back to the irons, i think the "better cheapos" are those that are interchangeable with the "936" soldering stations, definitely wouldn't touch anything with a screw to hold the tip like in WattsThat's picture.
Buy something like an Antex or a Weller - the other problem with cheapos is that temperature control is poor and you could damage components
If it shocks you means it broke or wasn’t made right to begin with. Decent simple (single/dual wattage) iron can perform well and last a long time. When they wear out, it is usually easier to replace than to repair.
Clean your tip religiously with a dampened ‘ocelo sponge’, and apply a coating of melted solder before turning it off, and before use. Never file or sand the tip! (If you did that, it could be the cause of the shocking. And if it shocks you, it’ll fry your chips.
Definitely best to get a temperature-controlled iron for electronics. And its very advisable to get one with low-
voltage element in the iron, since its not unusual to accidentally burn the wire to the iron, which a real
hazard with mains voltage.
I love my Hakko one... before that it was Weller.
wolframore:
I love my Hakko one... before that it was Weller.
I loved theose too.
Then I met Ersa 
Love at first solder!
Maybe if my Hakko dies. But I’m impressed with the newer Chinese ones now. The ones with the STM32 based controller (they’re hackable) when used with real HAKKO tips. Prob my next one.
My favorite is the Hakko Presto. It's got a 'boost button' that temporarily increases the power to 130 watts from it's 20 W normal state. Here's the iron I've been using for about 4 years now:
Put on your 3D anaglyph glasses (red/cyan) and click the image above to see it bigger, in 3D!